Blog Post 10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

     Viewing this weeks' videos emphasized more the importance of learning and knowing how to present technology in the classroom setting. The teacher that we heard from this week was Mrs. Cassidy, a teacher in the school system in Canada. She teaches first grade and in her first video, "Little Kids...Big Potential" she discusses the multitude of ways that she incorporates technology in her lessons. This video again showed us that kids like having a variety of ways in which they can learn and do their work. One interesting thing to me was that they were able to use their Nintendo DS to practice concepts as well. Additionally in this video I liked how Mrs. Cassidy explained how she thought her students liked having a broader audience in which to reach out to. Her students can see where their audience resides and take pride in knowing that so many people see the work that they are accomplishing.
     In the other videos viewed, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we learned how she started off with just a few computers and was able to technologically amplify her classroom. Seeing and listening to her approach is very insightful on how to really incorporate Smartboard, blogs, wikis, and Skype into lesson plans. It's never too soon to learn how to use these different medias and by learning the basics now it will be a lot easier to use them later on in the classroom.

Smartboard A

C4K Summary #2

   

     During the month of March I was given three more student's blogs in which to read and comment on. Two of the three students were from Mrs. Malowski's class and were given the option to either discuss the recent PLAN test that they took or to talk about job shadowing. My first student, Tayler, chose the PLAN test. In her discussion of it she talked about how it was a difficult test and that she wished she would have had more time to take it and review her answers. She additionally expressed how hopefully this test would help to prepare her for the ACT that she would be taking in the next few years. In my response I told her about how the ACT has a similar format and gave her some advice for taking on the timed portions of the exam. My nest student in this class was supposed to be Terren but unfortunately he did not have an updated blog so I chose another student, Ariel. Ariel chose the other option of discussing some recent job shadowing that she had done. She chose to shadow a nurse for the day and she really enjoyed it! I expressed to her that I was very happy that she had the opportunity to shadow when she did. When I was in high school I would have loved to have had the chance to look into the career that I was really interested in. It definitely would have helped a lot when I was trying to decide what my major would be. I think that by being able to follow around a professional in her future career will help even more to solidify her plans for the future. The last student that I was given came from Mrs. Lombard's seventh grade class. Ethan M. was my last student for the month and in his blog he discussed a recent book series that he had read. He had just finished the last book of the Left Behind series and talked about how he liked them a lot and was suggesting the series for other readers. I told him that while I had never read the books my dad owned all of them and he really liked them too. I was glad that he found a great series that he really liked and gave him insight on Christianity as well.

Edm 310 project 9

Blog Post 9

What can teachers and students teach us about project based learning?

     This question was presented with a lot of resources to try and discover the answer. The first the resources were a journal entry, "Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning", and a YouTube video, "Project Based Learning for Teachers." The first site introduced the idea that there are "steps" that should be followed when creating and implementing a new project for the classroom. Project based learning is started off with creating a need to know and followed up with a driving question for the students. In the classroom example given, it is an option to present your class with a video and a question that gets them excited about finding out an answer. Upon viewing the introductory video they can then share their voice and present options on the direction they want to take their project. Having the opportunity to use project based learning will also implement students' 21st century skills and share new innovations. As a teacher it is important to keep them focused and on track, to do this teachers should provide feedback and at times revise what work is being done. Lastly, students should have a reason to want to do well and do great work. A motivating factor that is needed is to inform students that their work will be presented publicly. Knowing that they will have to present in front of different groups will give them drive to want to do their best.
     Project based learning can be used in many academic areas including the physical side of education. The second two resources that I used to try and find the answer were "Project Based Learning in Physical Education", and "Project Based Learning in PE." It was really interesting seeing how projects can be brought into classrooms that don't have desks or white boards and don't normally utilize technology. In these two blogs the project was the same and it entailed having high school PE students creating fitness programs that would best benefit middle school PE students. The students had to research a lot of areas of fitness and talk to the middle school kids and see what interested them. This is very insightful to me since this is the direction I see myself going in with my teaching. From these resources I learned that you don't have to have a traditional classroom setting in order to provide your students with an opportunity to use project based learning.
     In the last resource that I viewed, "What motivates students?", I learned from students what drives them to want to succeed. I was very surprised that when most of them answered what their motivation was that it was so future and career driven. I expected maybe to hear that they wanted to make a good grade in their class or that they were promised a reward from their parent but to hear about how much they care about their future was amazing. I think that by viewing this video that it is important to think about how teachers should really take the time to know their students on a one on one level and really inspire them. Motivation is definitely key to success in any aspect and I think that by giving students the drive to learn is the best way that we can help them.
     So, overall I think the ultimate answer to the above question is that teachers and students can help us in a multitude of ways and the main way is just by sharing insight.

Blog Post 8

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

     Before I begin to answer the above question I first have to say that I am so glad that we were assigned to watch the video "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture." I feel that if I never would have viewed it and continued my life without ever hearing of who he was or hearing him lecture then I would have missed out on a very influential experience. That being said, I think that Dr. Pausch presented us with a lot of ways to both enhance our teaching and learning.
     In the first area of teaching, he made several great points about reaching out and finding what it is your students dreams, goals, or desires may be. Being in touch with what they want to achieve in their life can provide us with ways in which to inspire our students and give them the tools they will need to succeed. Teaching shouldn't just be about meeting standards or making sure enough projects have been done, but instead should get our students motivated to be life long learners in whatever dream they may have. Learning doesn't stop just because a semester ends and neither do dreams or motivation. Dr. Pausch demonstrated to us that teaching something doesn't mean that you have to teach the new subject head on. By building into or up to new ideas, you can present your students with stepping stones that they can use to make it to the whole point of the lesson. Additionally, it is important to keep it fun, to teach with passion, and again, to motivate our students.
     With learning I think that it is most important to keep an open mind. Even if we think we know it all or have reached the level that we deem respectable, there is still a lot to learn. Just like how Randy was when he initially went to Disney to work with the imagineers. People are going to know different things than we know and we have to be smart enough to listen and know that we can still learn so much. It is important to know that at any point in time that there are an abundance of resources available to us, not just those found on the web, but the people we know and have met along the way. We have to be motivated to learn as well.
     Viewing this video has taught me so much about how the things we want can be achieved if we want them badly enough and just keep trying. There are going to be a lot of brick walls and closed doors along the way to your dreams, you just have to decide how badly you want it and find a way through.


     

C4T #2 Summary

         For my second "comments for teachers" teacher, I was given Mr. David Truss and his blog "Pair-a-dimes for your thoughts". He is an educator and vice principal in Canada which I thought was pretty cool! The initial post that I commented on that he blogged about discussed how technology should be invisible in our school settings. Not to say that it shouldn't be used but that it should be a tool like anything else. Similar to how pencil and paper are used in the classroom, computers and technology should be called upon just as easily. His post really gave me a lot of insight as to how I would approach using technology in my classroom. I was having some difficulty in thinking about how to use all the available resources to teach my students. It became very overwhelming at times. Then, upon reading Mr. Truss' blog I learned that by the time students reach the secondary level that I hope to teach, they will have mastered almost more than I have! Instead of focusing on teaching the technology, I just need to use it as a tool to keep students learning.
 

     The next blog posting that I commented on by Mr. Truss was his "4 Notes on taking notes". His thoughts for this post were derived from a viewing of a picture that he had seen. In the picture was of a classroom full of students taking notes, however, instead of the traditional note taking using pencil and paper, the students took a picture of the board with their camera phones. As Mr. Truss started to elaborate more he feels that this method is not an ideal way to take notes in order for students to retain what they should be learning. I absolutely agree with his thoughts on this too. I feel that if students are given the option to just take a picture of a board after the instructor has finished his or her lesson then they wont even bother to listen. As Mr. Truss goes on he says that there are better ways to utilize technology in the note taking process. Different types of documents can be used by students while they are in the process of taking notes. Similarly, teachers have the option to use different resources as well to make the sharing of their notes easier too.